I never vote early. I always wait until the day of the election. I've done it that way because it feels even more like I'm doing my civic duty. I feel proud to go in and vote on the day set aside to do that.
As I've been reading Kos, I've come to understand the reason for going early. But it wasn't until I talked with a friend of mine this weekend that I decided to vote early.
My friend's from Kentucky originally, but is very much an Austinite. He was wondering where the early voting places were, and said that he planned on getting up early because "I want to be the first person in line to vote that bastard out."
And suddenly, I was struck by the same urge. So, though I HATE getting up early, my wife and I did so. We were the first ones in line, and have now cast our votes. We even picked up extra 'I voted' stickers to wear for the next week -- our subtle way of reminding folks.
Since this is my first entry, I'm going to add an 'extended', just 'cause I'm getting long. Don't know if it's appropriate.
I saw my friend at the International Accordion Festival in San Antonio. We went down for the weekend, and stayed at my in-laws. They live in Alamo Heights. For those that don't know the place, this'll give you a sense of it: in my wife's HS graduating class are boardmembers and owners of Clear Channel and Muzak. They have at least one judge in their class. It's an older money area of town.
And we were amazed, driving around, at the number of Kerry signs we saw. I don't know if all the Bush supporters are taking it all for granted or what, but in our entire time there, we saw a grand total of TWO Bush signs. One on an old mansion in the King William district (it was so illustrative of the Bush consituency that I wished I had a camera). And one other.
I can't tell you how many Kerry signs we saw. Our server (and one other server) in the cafe where we had breakfast was wearing a Kerry/Edwards button on her apron. Granted, it's an Austinish cafe. I'm not talking Denny's here. Still, to be that out in Alamo Heights, Texas. Us Dems are getting BOLD!
It feels so good to have voted. And so good to see so much KE love in the heart of Texas!